It's one of those things when you wake up one day and you find that the dog you've had since it was a puppy now has cataracts and is probably older in dog years than your dad.

Yeah, well, can't really say how sad I feel, but when I look at it and it was sniffing the edge of the drain, not being able just to see the other side of the eight inch gap, my heart just seems to crumble upon realising that my dog is blind and that's probably why it has been stumbling into the little drains when I took it for a walk around the house. Bitter irony. I just couldn't bring myself to laugh at it.

Yeah we all get old... but I'm not ready to bury my dog yet.

I saw an ad for the television premier of Legally Blonde 2. I don't suppose it was an affront to my intellectuality, considering that Elle Woods scored a 174 on her LSAT. But perhaps there's something about the absurd bimbotic attitude that somehow made her endearing to the audience, but perhaps so completely repulsive to me.

She actually plans to make cosmetic testing on animals illegal. Hah! Never have I heard such an absurd notion whatsoever. It's all well and nice in an airy fairy world that is Hollywood where there are happy endings... but this is so much like "What would I want most in this world? World Peace!"

Yeah right. Of course we know animal testing is cruel and unusual punishment, and in an ideal world we'd like to be humane and caring. Just like we don't like to pollute the world, or wage wars, or poverty.

Who would be responsible if a toxic cosmetic was sold on market and caused people to die? The cosmetic company of course. But why wasn't such cosmetics tested for toxicity before it was released onto the market? Because some pink blonde decided that animal testing should be illegal. Because if cosmetics wasn't tested on animals, what would it be tested on? Humans? Sure, people would risk disfiguring their faces, blindness and even death just to try out experimental cosmetics for money and better makeup?

Animal testing is just a hushed up thing, a company secret not to be known by the public, and it seems like an acceptable secret, because all of us can sleep better at night not knowing the atrocities commited for our benefit.

Sure, the Ringgit is now in a managed float. But all I manage to save is two sen??? Bah humbug!

Are we trying to prove to E.T. that there is no intelligent life out there?

My foot!

I am experimenting.

I try to avoid political commentaries if I could.

The recent bombings in London, another major city in the world, have some special significance. That none of us are safe anymore, and that the terrorist threat is a lot closer than we think. That's the mantra spread by Bush and his lackeys basically. CNN.com trumps that everytime, and I guess the world is sort of in fear. Although the bombings were not as severe as that of the 9/11, I don't believe that magnitude of crises should be marked by solely the number of deaths, but rather the numbers of lives touched. In that light, it is no less severe than the 9/11 suicide attacks. It is a haunting reminder of what could happen. In both attacks, we never saw it coming. What about the third?

And the world is gripped in fear of terrorism. That is a fact that no one would dispute. But I wonder who benefits more from this fear which has enveloped the world? The terrorists or the anti-terrorists?

The war on terror is just plain f*cked up. The whole problem with this war is that it isn't the world's war on terror or our war on terror. It is Bush's war on terror. It is Blair's war on terror. And it is a war which doesn't seem to be solving any problems at all, instead of intensifying the currents of extremism and anti-American sentiments. We thought we'd be safe after the war in Afghanistan. We thought we'd be safe after the war in Iraq. We thought we'd be safe after most of the known terrorist leaders were captured. We thought wrong. We thought wrong because we were told to think that way by our "leaders."

I suppose this isn't a war of bullets and missles, but rather a war of hearts and minds. On that battlefield, I fear that America is losing. It has after all, squandered all sympathy from the 9/11 attacks, through two wars which have yet to show that the world is any safer or better off. Last I heard, Afghanistan is still not the place to go vacationing and there are sporadic suicide attacks in Iraq which has killed more American soldiers than the war in Iraq itself.

You wonder why America takes such a hardline where they do not negotiate with terrorists. If that says anything, that says that they will not be pushed around, they will not give in, and everyone has to do things their way or the highway. Gee, that's pretty extreme isn't it? It is almost hypocritical that these politicians label their opponents as extremist when they themselves remain such hardliners. And I suppose beyond the labels, the differences begin to blur. Terrorists put reporters on television and behead them. Politicians put terrorists in Abu Gharib and humiliate them. And yes, some people believe that honor is more important than life, that is why they believe in giving their lives for a cause.

While I may sound like a pussy in saying, "Let's all play nice, understand each other and stop fighting." that isn't what I'm saying. I believe the way to go about this, is to eliminate these terrorists' reason to fight. Once they have nothing to fight for, they will put down their arms. After all these people aren't mindless drones. I can't pledge myself to a leader whom I disagree with in principle and action.

There will always be men willing to die, and there will always be wars to be fought. I think we forgot the reason why it all began. That's where we should begin. Because we all want the same thing; peace, justice, freedom.

Stab my eyes out! Stab my eyes out!

No, no, don't flinch. Ignore all millions of years of honed instinct and natural reflexes, you aren't suppose to react when that huge pink finger pokes your eye out.

Yup, that's the price of vanity. Plus 45 bucks.

Books I wanna read but having insufficient funds, and yes, I hate being poor, so I accept all donations.

How Would You Move Mount Fuji? by William Poundstone
Prisoner's Dilemma by William Poundstone
201 Best Questions To Ask on Your Interview by John Kador
Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

I'll add more to my reading list in due time, if I see any books that catch my interest.

Finished the Harry Potter book. Ah, fugit. Another 2 year wait. This permanently sucks doesn't it? Having to wait?

Anyway, book is thinner than book 5. But still, damn thick. But the prices are outrageously high. Damn those publishers. Where's my cut????

I suppose there's a little piece of heaven that exists somewhere on this pale blue dot.

Today, I beheld someone's kingdom. Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but I was sort of visiting his palm oil estates. Acres and acres of it. Just a little numbers. Each palm tree yields about 10kg to 50kg worth of fruit in a month. There are 58 palm trees on one acre of land. There are hundred over acres of land. I suppose that money does really grow on trees.

But then again, we visited this guy's beach side resort. He actually has a resort. 39 room resort. Tucked away untouched by the evil trendils of tourism. Next to a honeymelon farm. Clean and new. Just like a piece of heaven stowed away, waiting to be discovered. It was a beautiful beack, with the sun rising on the right, overlooking Santubong, and setting on the left, over some peninsula. Straight ahead are two islands, Pulau Talang-Talang, only a boatride away, and turtles still crawl up the beaches there.

It was a good 10km long stretch of beaches, and the owner said that he would chase a golf ball with an iron club down and up the beach. Great place to play football too. And there was still wildlife there, and the sand was actually clean. And we sat under this wooden gazebo enjoying the scenery before us. It was beautiful. Really.

Then we ate crabs. The flower crab, you know, with the long pincers and all, but those crabs were really huge because they are in season right now. One crab each, for dinner, nothing else. Steamed. And as I brutally attacked the crab, the sun slowly set, and the seabreeze blew towards the sea, yeah, well... it was great. Simple things I suppose, just very simple things. I imagine heaven must have a place like that somewhere. Though maybe the crabs are bigger?

Yo, jh, Happy Birthday.

About two weeks ago, there was an article somewhere in The Star, something about Malaysian teenagers are willing to take bribes which can be read here.

Anyway, the interesting points of the story. First the survey was taken in 2002. (Note: Strange, it took them 3 years to publish the results of the survey?) And second, 30% of high school leavers are willing to take bribes.

I disagree with the guy who made the survey that it's ONLY a small sample of the population. 2.4% of the entire Malaysian population is definitely not much, but then again, I suppose there should be a similar trend over different age groups, and perhaps my cynicism has conjectured the hypothesis that there is a positive correlation between age and tendency to take bribes. After all, I cynically believe that it has something to do with lack of naivette as one gets older and ones heart becomes filled with similar-typed cynicism and once one has accepted a bribe once, there's no reason not to do it again.

I suppose there are a couple of worrying things about this seemingly innocuous, downplayed survey results. First, that it seems strange that teenagers are somewhat given the impression that they can take bribes while in school where they are not put into any actual situation to recieve bribes or possess any personal experience on corruption. Corruption, as it would seem, has spilled over from society into the lives of teenagers, which makes today's teenagers believe they can take bribes. But I am not suggesting that Malaysia is a corrupt country, it doesn't have to be for this effect to take place, rather that even the public perception towards corruption and the prejudice that corruption is rampant in Malaysia's society would also cause a similar effect.

Secondly, I am sort of amazed by the lack of public response towards the matter, save one e-mail by a reader of The Star saying something about teenagers should be taught not to be corrupt. Okay, maybe I missed a couple of letters and e-mails, but this is the only one I saw. But let me tell this from my perspective. Upon reading the results of the survey, I believe I am ashamed to say that I was indifferent to it. My thoughts went something like, "Hmm... my only surprise was it was kinda low." I honestly think that this guy had his heart in the right place, but his solution remains somewhat wrong. Because it isn't about teaching the young not to be corrupt, but rather not teaching the young to be corrupt.

I look with scorn upon certain public campaigns such as the anti-smoking campaigns. Response from the public seems lukewarm. And I believe that formal education cannot be the key to raising civic-minded citizens, while informal education sends mixed messages. While one learns the definition of integrity in Pendidikan Moral, one is also exposed to certain political events which go something like, "I want to win the elections by a million votes." While adults cannot even show similar moral fibre in the real world, how do we expect teenagers, with minds moldable, innocent and naive like mine, to display even a bit of moral integrity in a hypothetical situation?

When Apollo Mission Astronaut Neil Armstrong first walked on the moon, he not only gave his famous "One small step for man; one giant leap for mankind" statement, but followed it by several remarks, including the usual COM traffic between him, the other astronauts, and Mission Control. Before he re-entered the lander, he made the enigmatic remark "Good luck, Mr. Gorsky."

Many people at NASA thought it was a casual remark concerning some rival Soviet Cosmonaut. However, upon checking, [they found] there was no Gorsky in either the Russian or American space programs.

Over the years, many people have questioned him as to what the "Good luck, Mr. Gorsky" statement meant. On July 5, in Tampa Bay, FL, while answering questions following a speech, a reporter brought up the 26- year-old question to Armstrong. He finally responded. It seems that Mr. Gorsky had died and so Armstrong felt he could answer the question. When he was a kid, Neil was playing baseball with his brother in the backyard. His brother hit a fly ball which landed in front of his neighbors' bedroom window. The neighbors were Mr. and Mrs. Gorksy. As he leaned down to pick up the ball, he heard Mrs. Gorsky shouting at Mr. Gorsky, "Oral sex? Oral sex you want? You'll get oral sex when the kid next door walks on the moon!"



Okay, this is just an urban legend I picked up on the Internet. But makes a good story and a good laugh.

Sometimes, something just seems wrong.

Story here.

ISTANBUL, Turkey - First one sheep jumped to its death. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff, Turkish media reported.
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In the end, 450 dead animals lay on top of one another in a billowy white pile, the Aksam newspaper said. Those who jumped later were saved as the pile got higher and the fall more cushioned, Aksam reported.

"There's nothing we can do. They're all wasted," Nevzat Bayhan, a member of one of 26 families whose sheep were grazing together in the herd, was quoted as saying by Aksam.

The estimated loss to families in the town of Gevas, located in Van province in eastern Turkey, tops $100,000, a significant amount of money in a country where average
GDP per head is around $2,700.

"Every family had an average of 20 sheep," Aksam quoted another villager, Abdullah Hazar as saying. "But now only a few families have sheep left. It's going to be hard for us."

Look, I'm bored okay? At least you guys got something better to do. To give you guys an idea of how bored I am, I was so bored that I decided to take a walk in my garden.

Yup, I'm THAT bored.

YAY! Harry Potter Book 6 is out in 13 days! Let's see who dies now.